Evictions, Covert Payments; Second Suspect in Lang'ata Cemetery Murder Arrested in Web of Complications

An undated image of a police vehicle at a scene of a crime
A police vehicle pictured at a scene of a crime
Photo
NPS

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers on Thursday arrested one more suspect accused of engineering a murder and dumping a body at the Lang’ata Cemetery on October 31. He was flushed out of his hideout in Eldoret Town.

During the arrest, several exhibits among them a blood-stained panga believed to be the murder weapon were recovered. Following tip-offs from the members of the public, the sleuths established that the suspect not only handled all payment transactions relating to the prime suspect's stay at Lavington but also drove the main suspect to the venue where the body was found.

The vehicle that was used was recovered at Ngara Civil Servants estate upon which it was towed to DCI Headquarters for further forensic examination.

DCI detectives also found out that the room where the prime suspect checked in with her female victim was being operated as an Airbnb by a Kilimani-based businesswoman who subleased the room from the apartment owner paying a monthly rent of Ksh55,000.

Items
Items recovered during the arrest of the second suspect.

The owner issued a notice of rent increment starting November 2024, forcing the lady to send movers to move out her stuff on November 1, 2024, a day after CCTV cameras captured the prime suspect, Hashim Dagane Muhumed (who was arrested on Sunday, November 3, on in connection with the murder), leaving the room on October 31st. 

Detectives invited the Airbnb owner for further questioning at the homicide offices to shed more light on the case in question. 

The lady indicated that the stuff she had moved from the Valley Heights Apartment was still intact as packaged by the movers and that some had been dropped at her residential house in Kilimani and the rest at her other business in Gatundu.

She further led the detectives to her home where the said stuff was unpacked and a handbag which does not belong to her was discovered. Preliminary investigations showed the handbag belonged to the murdered victim. 

A thorough search in Gatundu led to the discovery of a blood-stained panga and another set of exhibits similar to those found at Langata Cemetery were recovered which the detectives believe were used at the primary scene.

The sleuths uncovered that the suspects had tried to clean any traces of blood but not perfectly enough by someone in a hurry. Meanwhile, detectives have also established that the prime suspect was handling the victim's mobile phone and sim card, which he used to call her family members several times. 

A forensic trail of his communication took the officers back to Lang'ata cemetery where they combed the entire area, discovering a phone stashed in a bag that also contained clothes resembling those seen won by his possible victim. 

The items have been processed and kept as exhibits as the investigation continues. It comes it has been revealed the main suspect was linked to another murder case.

Directorate of Criminal Investigation Headquarters in Kiambu.
Directorate of Criminal Investigation Headquarters in Kiambu.
Photo
Directorate of Criminal Investigations
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